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Back on the old Linn Karousel...

@Mr Pig -- not sure if you want to go this route, but an ARO/Armageddon deck with the Karousel bearing and the basic subchassis would likely bring quite a bit of "flow" to the proceedings, especially if you're going to hang on to your Rega for the occasional 45rpm record. I only have room for one turntable, so changed to a Radikal from a 'geddon in order to get both speeds. The Radikal brought extra detail to the party, but I was impressed at how well the 'geddon performed in comparison.
 
And yet Linn make a Rega fit Kore subchassis; I know, because I have one!
Me too, albeit with a Roksan arm and not a Rega one… I really loved my RB700/Technoweight though, it was a seriously good arm… I reckon it’d work a treat on an LP12. Having seen one fitted in pictures, it looks superb too.
 
The deck was sent down to Rega in December for a full service and new belts were fitted. I was going to try the Ania Pro but I don't want to spend £750 to find it's still not right. I've tried a lot of carts on the deck but the essential nature of the sound remains. Time to draw a line under it and move on.

I would have imagined servicing to be carried out by a dealer not by Rega themselves. I'm surprised you didn't tackle it yourself with your TT knowledge, after all s'easy to change belts and re-lube the bearing (I even managed it myself :eek:). Not sure the EBLT's were available last December but anyways as you say time to move on.
 
I am planning on the RB2000, at least to start with, as I don't think you can beat Rega arms at the price. The alternative is what, an Ittok? A forty year old arm with unknown history?

Interesting what you say about the Majic PSU. To me it looks no better than the old capacitor board so why not just use one of those? I do like the sound of them. Very full, warm and bouncy. Do you have the Lingo4? If so, what do you think of it?
 
On an LP12 the Ittok will be more musical than a Rega arm. If you want the CD like Rega TT sound fill your boots with an RBxxxx
 
Totally agree Flat, but he won’t listen. He is totally committed to turning a Linn into a Rega.

He will then scratch his head and wonder why it’s no better than his RP10.

It’s the Thanos project.
 
Over the years I have heard a lot of turntables but I've not heard any that I felt communicated music like the LP12. I hoped the Rega would, and in many ways it is outstanding, but there is something missing and I miss it.

The older Sondeks add a bit of zing to the upper mids and quite a bit of plumpness to the midbass, the result is very impressive for listening to Tracy Chapman's Fast Car sort of music.

Adding an RB300 will turn this sound to mud. A lean sounding arm works much better. I used a Grace 707 (which MUST have the bearings adjusted perfectly) and it gave the classic Linn sound.
I also tried lots of DIY regs/supplies to get a Premotec DC motor to sound half decent with my old LP12. I reverted to the cap board and AC motor!

If you want the classic sound - you need a classic deck!!
(Just make sure you listen to "Fast Car" music all the time :D)
 
A forty year old Ittok, with bearings adjusted and suitably rewired by Johnnie would piss on an unused Ittok of a similar age if you could find such a thing. Not to mention a very good MM with correct total capacitance on the input which would save a bomb compared with one of today´s upper class MCs. Have you still got your Mana ?
 
Here’s a bit on the Lingo 1 which came out in 1990. Back in the day many LP12 owners used Naim amplifiers and the stock Lingo did not behave well with the grounding system of Naim. A special earthed Lingo lead CONN 401/E which applies to amplifiers with floating earth, which rely on the turntable to earth the system (not Linn amps).

I thought the move from Valhalla to Lingo was well worth it. At the time Linn dealers had a Valhalla in a box to make listening to the two options very easy to switch between using the same LP12. I was running a LP12/Ittok/Troika with a white lined pre-Cirkus bearing on a floor standing Audiotech table at the time with an Exposure 15 integrated amp through Quad ESL-57’s.

The Cirkus bearing came out three years later…


Lingo Power Supply
Date Introduced: 1990 The Linn Lingo is a high precision, direct coupled, power supply designed to sit alongside the LP12 turntable. The Lingo upgrade moves the LP12's performance into a new league, further distancing it from the competition.

At the heart of the Lingo are two very low noise crystal oscillators derived from the Linn Numerik digital studio recording system - one for 33.33 rpm and one for 45 rpm. The switch on the turntable selects the appropriate oscillator, the output of which is fed into a synchronous counter to produce a 50 Hz or 67.5 Hz square wave for 33 rpm and 45 rpm respectively.

As the LP12 motor runs at its quietest when driven with a clean sinusoidal waveform, a precision filter is employed in the Lingo to remove harmonics from the square wave leaving only a pure wave form.

The most uniform torque is delivered from the motor when both phases are driven at ninety degrees with respect to one another. This is achieved by a ninety degree phase-shift network after the filter. The two resulting sinusoids drive two high voltage class A amplifiers, the outputs of which drive the two motor windings.

The Lingo uses 'stall detection' circuitry to feed the motor with a higher voltage for increased start-up torque. When the platter reaches the selected speed, this load-sensing circuitry reduces the power output. From then on the motor just maintains the platter's own inertia to keep it going silently.

A toroidal transformer on the PCB, and a mains filter, give a very high degree of electrical isolation from the mains voltage supply.
 
I still have my original Lingo which has been on 24/7 the entire time I’ve had it. I proactively had it recapped a few years ago.
 
I would consider a Funk arm over a Rega arm on a Sondek. Sound is more neutral and a lot more engaging with musical tonal colour. Musically compatible with an LP12 and lighter arms work better on LP12s mechanically IMHE.

They will work on a Rega fit Kore or a standard Rega cut Linn armboard and the collar provided also allows for easy VTA adjustment
 
I would consider a Funk arm over a Rega arm on a Sondek. Sound is more neutral and a lot more engaging with musical tonal colour. Musically compatible with an LP12 and lighter arms work better on LP12s mechanically IMHE.

They will work on a Rega fit Kore or a standard Rega cut Linn armboard and the collar provided also allows for easy VTA adjustment
Or an Audiomods Series 6.
 
Important thing is that I want to retain the full, airy sound that made the LP12 so nice in the first place. If I wanted a super-clean record player I'd keep the RP10. Alive, fun, engaging are words I like.

Any experience or advice welcome? :0)

So you owned a LP12 before, think back to when you got that sound from the LP12. What was the configuration of the LP12 and system at that time including supports. Maybe start there…
 
I just listened to a couple of records on my crap TT. Really enjoyed it despite all the things that I keep being told are wrong with it.

You kept telling yourself it was crap, preferring the consistency of CD. Amazing how many Linnies are starting to re-think there must be something in this vinyl lark after all.
 


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